Have you watched American Libraries Live, our free, streaming library program? If you want to sample it, we have an excerpt in our June issue from our mobile technology in the library program. Hosted by Heather Moorefield-Lang, education and applied social sciences librarian for Virginia Tech, the expert panel included Bohyun Kim, digital access librarian … Continue reading Don’t Let It Stay in Vegas
Five years ago, I wrote about the value of screencasting software—software that films the action on your computer’s desktop—to create instructional videos on how to use the library and its resources (“Your Desktop: The Movie,” AL, Nov. 2009). Since then, librarians have created thousands of instructional videos on information literacy concepts, library resources, and services. Through … Continue reading More than Words
In Recognizing Public Value, Mark H. Moore, professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, uses seven case studies to highlight the problems of recognizing and measuring social value. Publicly supported agencies and institutions gain social value not just for the good they do but because the public has agreed … Continue reading Businesslike Management
Academic libraries are adopting strategies bookstores use—arranging writing workshops, inviting authors to give talks, and hosting book clubs—to make their spaces and services engaging. Thriving local bookstores, such as the Poisoned Pen and Changing Hands Bookstore in the Phoenix area, have figured out the importance of community and social activities in an era of steep … Continue reading A Moment of Science
Media is a complicated format for librarians: Issues involving fair use limitations and allowances, individual versus institutional rights, closed-circuit rights, public-performance rights, streaming rights, licensing details, and copyright and access questions are ever-present. Finding titles in a required format can also be problematic. The payoff comes in the many video resources available, both for free … Continue reading Media in the Classroom
This winter, I had the chance to explore an entirely new teaching experience, at least new to me. Along with my good friend Mike Eisenberg, I co-taught a large undergraduate course to 160 sophomores and juniors, many of whom are intending to apply to our baccalaureate informatics program. It’s very different from my usual 20–30 … Continue reading None of Your Beeswax
The era of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in American education carries both promise and peril. Pundits readily discuss varied perspectives about CCSS in everything from traditional journals to social media. While it is vital for school librarians to participate in this discussion, many are realizing how important it is to work with fellow educators … Continue reading Knowing What Readers Need
All around us, libraries are transforming as they adapt to broader changes in the communities they serve and the environment in which they now operate. In the process, librarians have discovered that as they better understand their communities and their aspirations, the more deeply they are “engaged”; the more impact they can have on their … Continue reading Libraries Transforming Communities
This issue (May 2014) we invited Marshall Breeding to give us a status and trends report on strategic products of the library technology industry. His detailed investigation begins here. He has been reporting on technology in the industry for more than a decade and regularly provides updates for us and on his own site. Breeding … Continue reading Now Trending: Tech and People News
If you have heard me speak this year, then you’ve heard me repeat this often-quoted saying: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” I thought every library worker already had that mindset, that all of us want to change the lives of those we serve through our actions. How dismaying … Continue reading Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Way back when, a library I worked at had a standard survey we gave to every student at the end of an instruction session. It included a bunch of Likert scale questions like “How satisfied were you with the session?” and “How useful was the session?” We dutifully collected the surveys and someone went through … Continue reading Asking the Right Questions
Above all, every library director with a standard seven-member board of trustees knows one fact of life: the rule of four. It takes only four votes to get you fired. If you’re unlucky, your board has only five members. Things can get very dicey when it takes only three votes to get you fired. So … Continue reading Fired Up for Retirement
